Ironing table top



H. B. FAY 2 ,319,396

IRONING TABLE TOP Film Dec. 5, 19%

'IIIIIIIII, villi/I111.

INVENTOR. Home: .5. 54).

ATTORNEYS A Maw/MM Patented May 18, 1943 IRONING TABLE TOP Horace B. Fay, Willoughby, Ohio, assignor to Gridiron Steel Company Application December 5,1940, Serial No. 368,635

3 Claims. ((138-437) The present invention, relating as indicated to ironing table tops, is more particularly directed to a new and improved metal top for folding stationary or closet type of ironing boards or for use as a skirt or sleeve board in which maximum ventilation through the board is combined with simplicity and rigidity of construction and these advantages are secured with relatively light weight and low cost.

One principal object of my invention is the provision of a light but rugged top having an encircling edge portion of very considerable strength and resistance to injury from careless handling and an ironing surface proper which can be reconditioned from time to time by the user to remove accidentally received dents to this surface. A second and'equally important object is the provision of an ironing surface which has a high degree of ventilation, since it has been found that the flow of air through the ironing surface, the usual pad covering the same and the cloth being ironed, increases the speed of ironing for the effort on the part of the user and prevents the accumulation of excess moisture in the pad.

These objects are obtained in the present invention by increasing the weight, size and strength of the edge portion of the ironing board to produce a substantially rigid frame and compensating for the extra weight in such frame by reducing the ironing surface proper to either a thin single sheet of metal provided with a multiplicity of ventilating openings or a woven wire screen in which the aggregate area of the openings is 40% or more of the total area. For such sheet or screen any reticulated metal sheet may be substituted. In order to main such surface member in a substantially flat condition, I establish the surface member in a tensioned condition between two opposite sides of the frame and provide means for convenient ret'ensioning of the same. The means for tensioning the surface member also serve as transverse braces for the frame.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention, then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims; the annexed drawing and the following description setting forth in detail certain structure embodying the invention, such disclosed structure constituting, however, but one of various forms in which the principle of the invention may be used.

In said annexed drawing:

Fig. l is a perspective view of an ironing board above figures, theframe consists of a hollow showing the top of reticulated material mounted on a conventional folding metal stand;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the board or top with the stand removed; and

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

In the drawing I have shown an ironing board mounted on a conventional stand l0, although the board or top can of course be used as a stationary or closet board or as a skirt board without such legs or stand if desired.

In the'form of my invention shown in the tubular element I 2 formed into the shape of a conventional ironing board with a main portion of substantially rectangular shape and an extending front or nose portion l3. The-frame is preferably split across the rear end and a short section it of tubing may be slidably inserted in the adjacent ends [5 of the tubing.

Mounted on said frame and rigidly held thereon is a sheet or cover It ofreticulated metal, here shown as woven wire screen. As shown, the screen is extended over the top flat surfaces and the outer faces of the frame and is welded or brazed to the bottom face I! of the frame, although the particular method of attaching is unimportant, provided that the sheet (or the transverse wires of the screen) be uniformly secured to the frame members. In attaching, it is desirable to secure all cross wires of the screen to the frame or to so fasten the screen that the frictional grip of all transverse wires is the same so that when the frame is expanded the screen will have an even tensioning over the entire area. 7

In the present form the tensioning means consist of a series of tensioning braces 20, there being three such braces shown, the number and positioning of course depending on the length and width of the board and the exact tension necessary. In the form shown, each tensioning brace consists of a pair of sockets 2| secured to opposite points on the inner face of the frame in which are mounted two members in the form of tubes 22 having their adjacent ends threaded and received in a threaded coupling member 23 having a series of radially extending holes 24 at the center. After the frame is formed with the braces secured in place and the screen applied as smoothly and tightly as possible with the frame reduced in size, the couplings 23 are rotated to force the members 22 apart, the threaded ends being so arranged that rotation of the coupling in one direction moves the tubes apart. Such movement spreads the. side members of the frame as they tend to move apart from the center of the rounded nose which acts as the hinge point. It will, of course, be understood that very slight movement of the opposite frame members away from each other is necessary to secure a relatively high degree of tension in the surfac member. The several braces are adjusted until the entire screen surface is brought under sufficlent tension to support an iron and the ironing pressure with substantially no sagging, and if slight stretching occurs under long use it may be easily tightened by further adjustment of the braces.

The so-called stand I!) represents any suitable and convenient supporting members for use with the ironing board top and it has been thought unnecessary to show any precise means of connection of these members to the top proper as it will be understood that this stand or legs may be connected either to the side members of the frame or to separate cross braces which may be provided between the side frame members.

The present board thus provides an ironing surface which, with the usual pad and cover, is wholly satisfactory and also ventilates the entire surface uniformly and evenly. The mesh of the screen or the amount of open area in a reticulated sheet can be varied to suit the conditions to be met in use and their spacing lends itself to complete and perfect ventilation.

The tensioning of the ironing surface and the adjustment therefor allows the user to maintain the surface at its highest efficiency at all times and furnishes a smooth ironing surface under all conditions. In accomplishing such tensioning it is necessary that all of the wires of the screen as a skirt board without legs or as a cabinet board or permanently mounted in any suitable manner.

board is shown as mounted on a leg stand of con- 45 ventional type it is obvious that it could be used Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employed instead of the one explained, change being made as regards the structure herein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of the following claims or the equivalent. of such stated means be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. In an ironing table top, the combination of a tubu ar metal frame formed into the contour of th finished top, a sheet of reticulated metal stretched over said frame and secured thereto and adjustable means mounted on said frame for expanding the same transversely to tension said top sheet and form the latter into a taut smooth ironing board surface.

2. In an ironing table top, the combination of a metal tube formed into conventional ironing board shape with a rounded forward end and tapered nose portion and a substantially rectangular rear portion to form a frame, the ends of said tube terminating at the rear of the board and being slidably joined together for movement transversely of the top, a sheet of reticulated metal stretched over said frame and rigidly secured thereto, and adjustable expanding means attached to said frame for expanding the latter transversely to tension said sheet into a taut ironing surface.

3. In an ironing table top, the combination of a metal tube formed into conventional ironing board shape with a rounded forward end and tapered nose portion and a substantially rectangular rear portion to form a frame, the ends of said tube terminating at the rear of the board and being slidably joined together for movement transversely of the top, a sheet of reticulated metal stretched over said frame and rigidly secured thereto, a plurality of spreader devices secured to said frame and adjustable transversely of said-frame to spread the latter and to tension said sheet to form the latter into a taut ironing surface.

HORACE B. FAY. 

